No, There Are Not Too Many Comic Book Movies

Scott Mendelson
, ContributorI cover the film industry.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

There are not "too many comic book movies" being made today, so why does it sometimes feel that way?

With the deluge of trailers and gossip regarding the details of the next five-six years of superhero films coming down the pike from DC Comics (Time Warner Inc.) and Marvel (Walt Disney), we have heard and will continue to hear the oft-repeated refrain that there are just too many comic book movies in the multiplex and/or Hollywood makes nothing but adaptations of capes-and-tights four-color adventures. I could cherry pick a few articles here and there over the last year to that effect (here, here, here), but I think it's something that has occurred to all of us or been said to us in casual conversation over the last half-decade. My wife says as much all the time, even though she tends to like the superhero films like Guardians of the Galaxy that she gets around to seeing. But even if the great wave of comic book superhero films over the next few years indeed comes to pass, with Marvel doing proverbial battle against DC's Justice League universe, with Fox's X-Men sequels and Sony's Spider-Man movies existing outside the big battle, the specific content will still be but a fraction of the overall output in terms of what pops up in multiplexes in a given year. So why does it often feel so overwhelming?

First of all, there were thirteen comic book adaptations in 2014. That sounds like a lot, but we're also talking about comic book adaptations such of the very non-superhero variety, such as the indie gems Snowpiercer, 13 Sins, and We Are the Best along with comic book variations on preexisting literary properties such as I, Frankenstein, Hercules, or 300: Rise of an Empire. If you're thinking big-budget superhero variations, then the list gets a lot smaller. We're looking at Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the animated Big Hero 6. That's six films in the 2014 calendar year. Comic book superhero movies, allegedly the bane of moviegoers' existence, makes up around 4% of the year's estimated 150 wide releases.

There will be (thus far) four comic book superhero movies during all of 2015. They are Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant Man, and The Fantastic Four during a year with (as of today) 119 would-be wide releases on tap. Even if we only get 119 wide releases, just 2.5% of them are superhero adventure films. 2016 is when things get busy, with its nine superhero comic book adaptations. They are Deadpool, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Suicide Squad, Gambit, Dr. Strange, and Sony's Spider-Man spin-off Sinister Six. Assuming all of those actually happen (and going forward anything involving Spider-Man is written in pencil), that will be nine films out of around 76 wide releases thus far in 2016, which would represent 11% of the total output that will play or might play at a theater near you in 2016 should not a single other film get slotted.

2017 gives us eight comic book superhero titles, specifically Wolverine 3, (possibly) Lego Batman, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, The Fantastic Four 2, Wonder Woman, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and Justice League part I. There are two Spider-Man spin-offs allegedly coming in 2017, Venom and "Female Spider-Man Team-Up Movie," but we'll count those when we get at least a release date or a title. As of today, 2018 will see seven such films. One of which, Amazing Spider-Man 3, is tenuously scheduled without a firm release date. The list thus far is The Amazing Spider-Man 3, The Flash, Avengers: Infinity War I, Captain Marvel, X-Men: Something Something, Inhumans, and Aquaman.

So presuming that each calendar year offers 120-150 wide releases and eventual expansions, the 2016-2018 period will offer around 24-30 superhero films (I'm presuming that a few might be added to the slate) out of 360-450 multiplex releases, or 5.5%-6.5% of the total output. But even if you argue that there are too many would-be franchise pictures overall (or that franchises like Power Rangers or Star Wars are once-removed from comic book superhero films), the fact remains that 2014 had more religious-themed multiplex releases (Son of God, Noah, God's Not Dead, Heaven is For Real, Left Behind, Exodus, etc.) than true-blue superhero comic book adaptations.

We obviously don't see pundits and filmmakers complaining about the deluge of religious-based cinema. We don't complain (as much) about the 8-12 animated features to drop into multiplexes every year. We don't complain about the number of horror films or the number of bawdy comedies that are released each year. The comic book superhero film that gets picked on more than any other sub-genre out there. It is the superhero film that is held up as the root of all cinematic evil.